Benihime eased her husband's body back into a natural resting position. His breathing had already changed... more stable, deeper. The marrow had begun integrating. New blood would form soon, carrying Uzumaki vitality through his veins in a slow strengthening process enhancing his cells, when he wakes up his chakra would also rise significantly.
"The body needs time," she continued. "One year, maybe more, before true results appear. He'll be weak for a while as his body adapts, as the foreign cells in his body would actively fight for dominance."
Kaien nodded. Relief washed over him, quickly replaced by thought. "Konoha still thinks Grandfather is beyond healing."
Benihime replied. "They don't know he will come back even stronger than before."
She placed her hand lightly on his chest, feeling the faint rhythmic pulse beneath her palm.
"He nearly tore himself apart in that form. Playing with Life force as if it was a toy. Black Lightning is a curse on his body more than power. He need to control it better."
Benihime continued, "But with this marrow, his natural regeneration will strength and stabilize."
Benihime straightened her posture, fatigue fading under an iron resolve.
"Kaien," she said calmly, "for the next few months, this place is your home. I will train you."
Kaien blinked. "You mean… to learn sage arts?"
"No.... You are not ready for that." Her tone sharpened. "To strengthen your chakra pathways and control it. To understand the nature around you... not absorb it."
--
Jiraiya stood on the ridge overlooking the Iwa front, the wind pulling at his long hair as he watched another day of strained stalemate unfold. The war had finally begun to slow... mostly because everyone was running out of breathing room. Iwa had lost too many shinobi to keep up their previous pressure, yet Ōnoki's sudden appearances with Jinton meant Konoha couldn't push their advantage either.
Every time he arrived on the battlefield, floating above like a stern old deity, Konoha shinobi froze. One sweeping beam of his Dust Release could erase an entire formation. Jiraiya had lost two hundred men in those surprise assaults alone.
And still Danzo insisted on pushing.
But Jiraiya's thoughts were far from Danzo's strategies. His mind drifted to something much more personal, something that had happened three months earlier. Something he'd replayed every quiet night since.
Tsunade…
Three Months Ago
The tavern was nearly empty. A few lanterns flickered across the wooden walls, throwing warm light across the table where the last two Sannin sat together. Orochimaru left to konoha for some important mission.
So just the two.
Tsunade held her cup loosely, staring into the sake without drinking. Her eyes were wet... a rare sight for someone so stubbornly composed or she never showed this side of her to him. Jiraiya didn't pressure her to speak. He just sat beside her, letting the silence settle.
Finally, she murmured, "I didn't even get to see him… not even at the end."
Jiraiya lowered his gaze. Hiruzen's death had shaken them both, but the wound cut differently for her. She had lost a sensei, a father figure, her torchbearer.
"I should have been there," she whispered. "I should have saved him. Just like I should have saved…" Her voice cracked. "Nawaki and Dan."
Jiraiya clasped his hands. He'd heard this tone only once before... after Nawaki's funeral. Tsunade rarely allowed herself to grieve. When she did, it felt like she was drowning in a world of sorrow.
"Don't do that," he said softly. "It is not your fault for the deaths of Old man or" "Dan. Don't take the whole world on your shoulders." He said even softly.
She laughed weakly, bitterly. "Who else is going to? You?"
Jiraiya smirked. "I'd try. Even if I fail horribly."
Her lips twitched. "And Minato?" she asked quietly. "He too suffered against the raikage."
Jiraiya's chest tightened. Minato was the bright, earnest boy he'd trained. Losing Kushina. Losing Hiruzen. Losing his arm. The war had carved pieces out of him, same as it had done to Tsunade. And him.
"We're all losing people close to us," Jiraiya said with a tone of sadness almost about to cry. "Sometimes I'm afraid there won't be anything left of us when this is over. What are we even fighting for."
Tsunade looked down. Her hand trembled, she tried to hide it by reaching for the bottle.
Jiraiya caught her wrist gently.
"Tsunade," he said, "it's okay to—"
She lifted her head sharply... and her face was far, far too close.
All the air left his lungs. She was already so drunk. Her gaze was hazy, glimmering with grief and heat and something he'd never seen directed at him before.
"Jiraiya," she whispered.
He didn't know who moved first.
Her lips crashed against his, fierce and sudden, and he barely registered the shock before instinct kicked in. He kissed her back... hesitant only for a heartbeat before emotion swept both of them under.
Her hands gripped his vest and tore them apart. His arms wrapped around her waist loosening the belt. The ache in their chests... grief, longing, years of unspoken emotions... burned through whatever distance had separated them all these years.
No words were spoken. Just two broken people reaching for the nearest warmth.
And the night blurred with undeniable intimacy. Two Sannin, bruised by loss, holding onto each other as if the world might vanish.
Morning After
Sunlight crept through. Tsunade opened her eyes slowly. Her head pounded. Her body felt heavy, warm... and the weight beside her wasn't a blanket.
Jiraiya slept with one arm draped over her waist, snoring softly, smiling like an idiot even in his dreams. Not his usual perverted grin this one was… peaceful.
Her mind blanked. Then the memories slammed into her.
Her face flushed red. A tremor of embarrassment. A flicker of oh no oh no no no. As she remembered her shouting "Jiraiya" "Jiraiya".
And then revulsion?
No. That wasn't it. The feeling twisting in her chest wasn't disgust.
It was fear.
Fear because she had let herself be vulnerable again. Because she had crossed a line she'd vowed never to cross even with Dan. Because she had reached for comfort in a moment of weakness… and the man beside her was Jiraiya.
Jiraiya... the idiot. Jiraiya... the pervert... Jiraiya... who had loved her for decades. Before she knew that... she was already with Dan that time.
Before she could sort her thoughts, he stirred.
His eyes blinked open, unfocused, then widened comically when he realized where he was.
"Tsunade… uh… good morning?" he croaked.
She narrowed her eyes. He swallowed hard.
"Tsunade, listen—I'm sorry. I swear, if you want to punch me, I'll take it. Just please don't—"
Her gaze dropped. To the bottom half of him, tangled in sheets. Her eyebrow twitched dangerously.
Jiraiya paled. "Tsunade… Tsunade, wait—don't—"
She kicked him clean off the futon. He hit the floor with a grunt.
"OW! Why?!"
"You know why!" she snapped, cheeks burning. "And if this ever gets out, Jiraiya... I swear by every ancestor of the Senju clan—I will make sure no future generation of yours ever exists!"
He paled so fast it was almost impressive. "Understood! Completely understood! Mouth shut forever!"
They stared at each other... flushed, disheveled, and awkward as hell.
Then something unexpected happened. Tsunade's shoulders shook. She laughed. Jiraiya stared with a stunned face, as her laughter softened into quiet breathing.
The grief didn't vanish. But it eased. And Jiraiya... rubbing his bruised ribs... felt something in his own chest loosen for the first time since his sensei's death.
--
A/N: Upto 20 Advance chapters available @ patreon.com/aizenDuchiha0
So, This is how it went. Orochimaru was researching edo tensei at this point so he was not there.
aizenDuchiha0 said @ chapter 56:
"I have to stay strong… she thought, her hand resting gently on her stomach, fingers tracing the warmth there with quiet affection. I'm sorry, Dan… I was not sober that day. Please forgive me. But I have shall it."
A single tear slipped down her cheek, vanishing into the dirt below.
When she fought Chiyo for a brief moment and saved minato and hyuga brothers, she was 3 months pregnant.